Johnson, Smith shine as Hawks fly past Magic

ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- On a special night meant to
celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Orlando Magic, things
didn't go as planned for the home team.

Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks did not play the role of
polite guests, getting off to a fast start and rolling to a
99-85 victory over the Magic on Wednesday in the season opener
for both teams.

With both teams looking to build upon strong finishes to last
season - the Magic winning their first playoff series since 1996
and the Hawks making the postseason for the first time since
1999 - the Hawks were the ones who started the new season on a
positive note.

Johnson led the way for the Hawks with 25 points and seven
rebounds, seemingly always there to make the important shot when
the Hawks needed it. Josh Smith recorded a double-double with 17
points and 10 rebounds.

While Johnson may have led the way on the stat sheet, he was
quick to point out the efforts of his teammate as the driving
force in the Atlanta win.

"When (Josh Smith) is active, blocking shots, rebounding,
getting up and down the floor - that's when he is at his best,"
Johnson said. "We need him flying around like that. When he does
that, he is one of the best in the league."

It didn't take long for the visiting team to rally behind their
fifth-year star.

After Atlanta pulled ahead with a 26-13 lead at the end of the
first quarter, the Magic were only able to cut the lead to four
points midway through the second quarter. The Hawks then
proceeded to run off 11 straight points and never looked back,
holding off a series of fourth-quarter runs by the Magic.

Dwight Howard continued where he left off in last year's
MVP-caliber season, posting a double-double with 22 points and
15 rebounds. Howard also tallied a career-high five steals.

The Magic's downfall began with arguably their biggest strength
last season - 3-point shooting. Following a season in which the
team made over five threes in every single regular-season game
en route to an NBA record, Orlando was a paltry 4-for-25 from
beyond the arc. It was the first time in 83 games that the team
did not sink at least five threes.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was clearly disappointed with the
effort, and noted that in addition to not being patient on
offense and forcing too many shots, the home team lacked energy.

"The last good minute of the night was before the game when the
players of 20 years ago were introduced," Van Gundy said. "They
probably had more energy than we did."

Van Gundy shouldered the blame for some of the loss, but was
quick to point out that none of the Magic players offered a
great performance.

"Mickael Pietrus was the only one to have a good offensive
night, but he wasn't good on defense," Van Gundy said.

Pietrus put up strong numbers in his Magic debut, scoring 20
points while shooting 7-of-16 from the field, but had a number
of defensive lapses, and the newcomer wasn't satisfied with his
personal performance or that of the Magic.

"We didn't make shots when we needed to; not good at all for our
first night in front of the home crowd," a disappointed Pietrus
said.

With the Orlando three-point attack missing in action, Atlanta
put together a strong team effort that saw the Hawks bench
outscore the Magic reserves by a 27-11 margin, led by sixth-man
Flip Murray with 14 points, and earning much praise from Hawks'
coach Mike Woodson after the game.

"Our reserves carried us throughout all of our exhibition
season," Woodson said. "When we made runs in the exhibition
season, it was the bench that was doing it."